Author Archive | Jared Newman

GameStop Starts Selling Android Tablets, But Why?

Posted by Jared Newman on November 2, 2011 at 5:25 am

Earlier this year, GameStop said it would either find some tablets to sell or build its own. Now, the retailer has chosen option A, launching a handful of familiar Android tablets with some free games inside.

So far, the lineup includes the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Asus Eee Pad Transformer and Acer Iconia Tab A100. They’re available online and in 200 U.S. stores, according to Joystiq. The free games are Dead Space, Monster Madness, Riptide HD, Re-Load, Cordy and Sonic CD. GameStop is also pre-loading its Flash game portal Kongregate Arcade, and is selling a Bluetooth game controller for $39 extra.

The strategy seems a bit puzzling to me. When GameStop said it wanted to sell tablets, I assumed the retailer would use them as a foothold for selling downloadable games. GameStop owns its own digital distribution platform, Impulse, and also has some streaming technology from Spawn Labs that could allow tablets to stream high-end video games from consoles or PCs. Neither of those services are present in this first wave of Android tablets, or if they’re on board and in hiding, GameStop’s not saying so.

GameStop isn’t getting onto the tablet business just so it can sell Bluetooth game controllers.  There must be more to the story than this. My guess is that whatever GameStop really has in mind isn’t ready yet, and these tablets are just filler–a way to sell more stuff to holiday shoppers until the real GameStop tablet is ready.

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The One Really Nice Thing About Android’s Back Button

Posted by Jared Newman on October 31, 2011 at 3:56 pm

Back in June, I took up the unpopular stance that Android’s navigation buttons are kind of useful. This was before Google introduced Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which, as rumored, allows smartphones to drop physical buttons in favor of software buttons.

But Ice Cream Sandwich doesn’t remove buttons altogether, it just moves them to a different place, leading Mobisle Apps Co-Founder Christoffer Du Rietz to conclude that Android is conceptually broken because it’s doomed to carry these buttons forever:

“The problem is, that Android hasn’t decided what that it wants the back button to do. Do you want it to take you back to the previous screen, wherever that was, or take you back one step inside the app? Right now it’s a convoluted combination of the two, and most of the time, which one will occur is a guess and can’t be known before pressing the button.”

I agree that the inconsistency of Android buttons is a problem, because you don’t always know what’s going to happen when you press “back,” “menu” or “search.” But I’m still happy to have these buttons, and the back button in particular, for one reason: “Back” is universal. It allows you to move not just within apps, but between them.

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The Pros and Cons of the Internet, As Taught to Students in 1996

Posted by Jared Newman on October 28, 2011 at 7:00 am

Last weekend, I was at my parents’ house in Connecticut for a family matter. As my sister went through some of the things in her childhood bedroom, she discovered a document from 1996, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet. This was apparently part of some high school handout packet; also included among the papers were tips on using Altavista and print outs of the Yahoo home page as viewed in Netscape.

Since we’re fans of tech nostalgia here at Technologizer, I thought I’d share the document with you. Surprisngly, many of the Internet’s perks and problems remain the same 15 years later, but some of them just seem silly in retrospect.

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How Disappointing: Google’s Andy Rubin Dismisses Siri

Posted by Jared Newman on October 20, 2011 at 1:37 pm

I’m having trouble wrapping my head around Andy Rubin’s dismissal of Siri, the virtual assistant built into Apple’s iPhone 4S. Here’s what Rubin, Google’s senior vice president of mobile, told Ina Fried during the Asia D conference in Hong Kong:

“I don’t believe that your phone should be an assistant,” he said. “Your phone is a tool for communicating. You shouldn’t be communicating with the phone; you should be communicating with somebody on the other side of the phone.”

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Sony’s PS Vita Gets a U.S. Release Date: February 22

Posted by Jared Newman on October 19, 2011 at 2:44 pm

We already knew Sony’s Playstation Vita was going to miss the holiday shopping season in the United States, but now we know by how far. The handheld, which aims to be portable gaming’s last stand against smartphones and tablets, launches on February 22, 2012.

The post-2011 launch date outside of Japan gives Sony and game publishers more time to finish their launch titles. Sony must have seen how poorly Nintendo’s 3DS fared without a solid game lineup, and wanted to avoid releasing the Vita with a whimper. The company says more than 100 PS Vita games are in development now, but didn’t say how many will be available at launch. (In Japan, where the PS Vita launches in December, 26 games will be available from the beginning.)

Sony’s still planning to sell the PS Vita for $250 in the United States, or $300 with 3G connectivity from AT&T. Nintendo’s decision to slash the 3DS price from $250 to $170 apparently hasn’t changed Sony’s thinking on the matter. The cost of AT&T 3G service is still a mystery.

I’m looking forward to the PS Vita even though I have my doubts about the viability of gaming handhelds in a world of smartphones, tablets and the iPod Touch. The PS Vita acknowledges those threats by including a touch screen, front- and rear-facing cameras and apps like Skype, Facebook, Twitter and a web browser, but it also tries to be a serious gaming handheld with quad-core graphics and dual analog sticks for shooters and other modern games. I hope Sony is giving itself enough time to get the little things right and to have a big launch in four months.

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Bill Shock Be Gone: FCC, Wireless Carriers Strike a Deal

Posted by Jared Newman on October 17, 2011 at 8:22 pm

Rather than face regulation, wireless service providers have struck a deal with the Federal Communications Commission to warn customers about impending overage charges for voice, text and data use.

Customers will receive free text alerts in real-time when they’re about to exceed their limits, CNET reports. The move is supposed to cut down on the “bill shock” people may feel when hit with sky-high rates for extra usage. Wireless carriers will also warn customers who travel overseas about the additional fees they may incur.

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New Wii Bundle: Same Price, New Game, No Gamecube

Posted by Jared Newman on October 17, 2011 at 11:05 am

Nintendo’s repackaging the Wii once again for U.S. gamers, with a slighly different design that removes Gamecube support.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because Nintendo introduced a similar model for Europe a couple months ago, saying at the time that it “does not currently have any plans” to bring the console stateside. (But as I noted back then, “no plans” usually means “we have plans that we’re not telling you.” Nailed it!)

Anyway, the new Wii bundle costs $150 and includes New Super Mario Bros. Wii, a vamp on Nintendo’s classic 2D platformer that supports four players on the screen at once. It also includes the soundtrack to Super Mario Galaxy, which is a puzzling addition, but also kind of cool if you like boppy orchestral music. The console’s physical design isn’t much different from it’s predecessor, but it removes the stand that allows you to prop the Wii up vertically.

In the United States, Nintendo will continue to sell its existing Wii model and bundle, which supports Gamecube games and includes Mario Kart Wii and a Wii steering wheel. At least, that’s the story for now. In time, I expect Nintendo to phase out the backwards-compatible Wii. No one’s developed a Gamecube title in four years, and demand for backwards compatibility is surely dropping among whoever hasn’t bought a Wii yet.

Still, I’d urge anyone who’s interested in a Wii to consider the old model, and the treasure trove of great GameCube games it supports. You might want games like Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in case the novelty of motion control wears off.

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Sony Attacked, Not Hacked

Posted by Jared Newman on October 12, 2011 at 11:35 am

Sony has another security headache on its hands, but don’t call it a hack.

According to the official Playstation blog, some entity was trying to sign in to users’ accounts on the Playstation Network, the Sony Entertainment Network and Sony Online Entertainment, using “a massive set” of login data obtained elsewhere. The attackers likely got a hold of a large username and password database, and were trying to see if any of those logins worked on Sony’s networks.

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Scribblenauts, a Cool Nintendo DS Game, Heads to the iOS App Store

Posted by Jared Newman on October 12, 2011 at 5:34 am

Scribblenauts was one of the most innovative Nintendo DS games. To solve platform-style puzzles, players typed the name of any object they could imagine, and that object would come to life on the screen. Nearly any noun in the dictionary–provided it was appropriate for all ages–was recognized by Scribblenauts and could interact with the game world.

Now, a version of that game, Scribblenauts Remix, is coming to the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Scribblenauts Remix costs $4.99, and includes 20 levels from the original game, 20 levels from Super Scribblenauts and 10 new levels. It also supports iCloud syncing, so players can continue their game across any iOS device.

In 2009, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime brought up Scribblenauts as a defense against supposedly inferior iOS games. Paraphrasing Fils-Aime, the Washington Post’s Mike Musgrove wrote:

“And have you tried Scribblenauts? It’s a cool new game that has received acclaim from all corners. The title’s unique feature, which has players writing words on the screen that the game brings to life, couldn’t be done in an iPod.”

A direct quote from Fils-Aime follows: “That’s a fabulous experience that can only be brought to life on the DS.”

Uh oh.

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Dark Souls is a Word of Mouth Triumph

Posted by Jared Newman on October 10, 2011 at 9:07 am

Something remarkable happened in the United Kingdom last week: Dark Souls, a game with no mass appeal and hardly any marketing, outsold the blockbuster Gears of War 3.

Granted, Dark Souls launched last week, whereas Gears of War 3 was released on September 20. And Dark Souls is available on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, while Gears of War 3 is an Xbox 360 exclusive. Still, I never expected that a nerdy, dark fantasy RPG would so quickly topple a white knuckle shooter with crazy marketing and voice acting from Ice-T.

If you follow enough gamers and game writers on Twitter, it’s easy to understand what’s going on. Dark Souls, like its spiritual predecessor Demon’s Souls, has incredible word of mouth.

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